SOM Team Showcased in National Semiconductor Conference

“We loved your pitch. We definitely want to invest; please contact us when you are ready to raise.”

My mind was blown. My pitch literally started as “Hi, my name is James Lin and I’m representing Alacrity Semiconductors. We are not looking to raise today but I have an exciting technology to share with you,” and I have in front of me a senior member of a large multinational technology corporation ready to invest in my startup.

This all happened during the Silicon Innovation Forum (SIF) at SEMICON West—a national semiconductor conference where my startup Alacrity Semiconductors was chosen to be a showcase team among hundreds of applicants. And not only was Alacrity chosen as a showcase team, it was the team that was the newest and earliest venture among all teams chosen.

For SIF, I had to create a five-minute pitch to a panel of investors and also produce a poster highlighting my technology. Following the pitch, there was a two-hour reception where I stood in front of my poster and fielded inquiries about the technology and company from investors and representatives of big semiconductor companies.

Fortunately, I was able to hold my own by drawing on my background as a Qualcomm engineer; I developed several significant leads with major product manufacturers, semiconductor foundries, and early stage investors. The outcome was even better than I dared to dream.

To cap off the evening, I met several SOM classmates for dinner to catch up on the summer. It was so nice seeing my fellow classmates and hearing their support as it created that microcosm of SOM support in a big and unfamiliar city.

While this was definitely a highlight of the summer for myself and for Alacrity, there is still much more developing. Following on the interest we’ve received and the amount of pitching we’ve done, I expect even larger developments in the near future.